What do elites do? What do sub elites do, average cyclist etc. I’m talking MPW cycling distance
What do elites do? What do sub elites do, average cyclist etc. I’m talking MPW cycling distance
Mileage isn't really looked at in cycling. It's more about time x watts.
400mi is average among pros
Cyclists measure in hours as distance is so variable based on terrain. Riding over 20 hours a week is the standard for pros, with some doing blocks of 30 hours a week or possibly more.
A typical competitive hobby pedaler (akin to a 16-17 min 5k) is probably 30 mi four days a week and 60 mi Sat/Sun. Total 200-250.
8-10 hours will have an average talent athlete towards the front of their local group ride. cat 3/4 level.
10-13 hours will have you around Cat 3, maybe higher if you're talented.
13-16 will get many people to Cat 2/3. (Has to consistently be there)
16-20 hours and you'll be a cat 1-3. If you're worse than that, you're probably riding easy the entire time.
Consistently over 20 hours and you'll be pro-Cat 2 at worse.
Pros can be anywhere between 15-40 hours. Depending on the event and how they structure training.
Ex: I've coached a guy who had a full time job and won a UCI cross race (top 40-50 in the world) 18-20 hours was huge for him. But he did a lot of intensity. That would not work if he was Pro-tour road racing. The races are too long to get away with only 18 hours.
Just add the hours by 15-25 depending on the terrain and if training solo vs. in a group. You'll get your mileage.
They normally track volume with time rather than distance and speed is pretty variable depending on the ride conditions but 20 hours/wk or more is not unusual and holding ~20 mph for several hours is not a problem for your typical pro so I'd say 400ish miles/wk is a reasonable estimate.
That is an insane amount of time to spend hunched over getting saddle sores
There are tons of pro cyclists on Strava you can follow to see for yourself. Dowsett is currently averaging 260 mpw
https://www.strava.com/pros/505408
He's with the new Israel Nation team Froome just signed for.
Bad Wigins wrote:
That is an insane amount of time to spend hunched over getting saddle sores
5 time TdF winner Eddie Merkx had to skip a tour due to saddle sores.
Fignon claims he lost the TdF to LeMond due to saddle sores.
Many pros (Lance says) hit 35 hrs per week during base phase, long rides upto 7-8 hrs.
I sometimes ride with an ex semi-pro whose Italian coaches targeted 30 hrs/week peak.
He weighed 140s. 15 yrs+3 kids later he says he's now 180; we are similar speed on the flats and
he only bikes a few hrs/week compared to my 10-12.
tldr: Shammy cream is your friend.
I have a friend who rode 237 mile a day average for a year, which ended up 86,500 miles for that year. Considering that this is a world record by a wide margin, I would say this is high mileage for cyclists.
No idea about elite riders, but as a serious hobby cyclist, my best year (2009) was an average ride of a shade over 45 miles, and about 5 rides a week.
So I guess that is 225 miles a week. While time is probably a better indicator, I’d have to find my logs as I just didn’t think in those terms then.
rosshm16 wrote: holding ~20 mph for several hours is not a problem for your typical pro
They can do far better than that, typically. Source: My goal time for centuries is 5 hours typically.
uh_no wrote:
rosshm16 wrote: holding ~20 mph for several hours is not a problem for your typical pro
They can do far better than that, typically. Source: My goal time for centuries is 5 hours typically.
He's talking about estimating miles from hours per week. Pros aren't seeking out flat routes only in good conditions to ride, so the average will be less than 20 mph. For example, look at the Strava of the pro linked above: average of 261 miles in an average of14:59 for the past 4 weeks = 17.4 mph.
Phil Gaimon's 4 week average is 250 miles and 16:19 per week. 15.3 mpw. He likes climbing.
CycleKings wrote:
What do elites do? What do sub elites do, average cyclist etc. I’m talking MPW cycling distance
Just for myself, I rode maybe 150 mpw/10-11 hours per week as a sophomore in high school riding on my own, not on a team, and with no training guidance. That was before I joined my high school cross country/track team the following year. I did a 17 mile, hilly loop after school every day that had a stiff, 800 ft climb in middle of it, with longer hilly rides on the weekends.
As a freshman in college, I rode on my college team, the only time in my life I did group rides. There was no coaching. We rode 2-3 hours a day, every day, maybe 16-20 hours per week.
The most I rode solo was 350 miles in a week during summer break in college. That was a one-off. I just wanted to do 50 miles a day for a week on hilly back roads. Probably was somewhere around 20-24 hour training week.
zzzz wrote:
Phil Gaimon's 4 week average is 250 miles and 16:19 per week. 15.3 mpw. He likes climbing.
*mph
zzzz wrote:
uh_no wrote:
They can do far better than that, typically. Source: My goal time for centuries is 5 hours typically.
He's talking about estimating miles from hours per week. Pros aren't seeking out flat routes only in good conditions to ride, so the average will be less than 20 mph. For example, look at the Strava of the pro linked above: average of 261 miles in an average of14:59 for the past 4 weeks = 17.4 mph.
Yes, for another example here's six-time grand tour winner Chris Froome's latest ride on Strava, 17.3 mph average over ~90 miles (but almost 12,000 ft of climbing).
https://www.strava.com/activities/3770978400Pros also don't necessarily upload every ride they do to Strava. Strava says Froome has gone on 34 bike rides this calendar year. He's done a little more than that.
butt surfers wrote:
Bad Wigins wrote:
That is an insane amount of time to spend hunched over getting saddle sores
5 time TdF winner Eddie Merkx had to skip a tour due to saddle sores.
Fignon claims he lost the TdF to LeMond due to saddle sores.
...
tldr: Shammy cream is your friend.
What about the hunched over part? Do they end up with weird skeletons? Bowed spine?
rosshm16 wrote:
zzzz wrote:
He's talking about estimating miles from hours per week. Pros aren't seeking out flat routes only in good conditions to ride, so the average will be less than 20 mph. For example, look at the Strava of the pro linked above: average of 261 miles in an average of14:59 for the past 4 weeks = 17.4 mph.
Yes, for another example here's six-time grand tour winner Chris Froome's latest ride on Strava, 17.3 mph average over ~90 miles (but almost 12,000 ft of climbing).
https://www.strava.com/activities/3770978400Pros also don't necessarily upload every ride they do to Strava. Strava says Froome has gone on 34 bike rides this calendar year. He's done a little more than that.
Some of them do a lot on indoor stationary bikes too. Especially this spring.
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